Thursday, April 21. 2011

While my music has been mentioned in countless film critiques, I don't believe I've ever had a review written about my music specifically...until this week. Dan Schweiger at Film Music Magazine has written a rather glowing piece about my score for COWBOY SMOKE which was released last month on iTunes. As somebody who also writes about film music it's a bit strange to have the tables turned and have somebody write about me. I'm thrilled that this time it's all good.

As it turns out Dan also writes about Intrada's release of STAY TUNED (1992) and praises my liner notes as well.

Wednesday, April 20. 2011

Last night I had the honor and privilege of being the emcee at the Cinematic Symphony concert entitled "Childhood Heroes." It was a real treat for me to introduce each piece and share a little insight with the audience. The Cinematic Symphony is an amateur ensemble here in town that performs a handful of concerts a year featuring nothing bu film music. I've been to a few of their performances in the past and I've always had a great time. When I was asked to emcee this particular concert a couple months ago I immediately said "yes!".

When I arrived at the beautiful Mexican American Cultural Center in downtown Austin, several people commented on the fact that I didn't have any notes to read from. I think they might have been a little nervous. I assured them that I didn't like to read notes and would be more comfortable just "winging it." I may forget to mention something I intended to say but that's far better than stiffly reading prepared notes. I like to be spontaneous and free with my words. I like to let the inspiration of the moment and my passion guide me. Nothing would've killed the evening more than me just standing up there reading from a script.

Needless to say everyone was overjoyed by my participation. I got quite a few compliments from the ensemble and various audience members after the show. I think I might of heard somebody christen me "Mr. No-Notes."

The concert was really awesome and a lot of fun. They performed music from BATMAN (1989), STAR WARS: EPISODE I - THE PHANTOM MENANCE (1999), DICK TRACY (1990), KING KONG (2005), THE INCREDIBLES (2004), PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST (2006), and several others. What a gift it is to live in a town that has an ensemble devoted to the performance of film music!

There's been some talk of me getting more involved with the organization in the future. I look forward to those conversations in hopes I may strengthen my relationship with this fine organization.

Tuesday, April 19. 2011

Intrada Records announced their newest soundtrack release today and it's a gem! STAY TUNED (1992) by Bruce Broughton is the latest album to feature liner notes written by yours truly. This is my debut for Intrada Records whom I'm really proud to be working with. They're one of the tip-top labels in the industry and one of my personal favorites. This is actually the second Intrada album I wrote notes for but the first is still in production and won't be released until later this year.

STAY TUNED marks my ninth soundtrack album to write liner notes for and it may be my favorite in regards to the music. Bruce Broughton is one of the most talented, skilled, and woefully underrated composers working today. He's one of the undisputed masters of the orchestra which he demonstrates mightily with this score.

I had a lot of fun writing these notes. I went for something a little bit different. I tried to capture the spirit of the movie not just in the words themselves but how the information is presented. I hope it works. I saw the proofs a while back and they looked fantastic.

I have a feeling this one is going to sell-out rather quickly. I can't wait to get my copy.

Friday, April 15. 2011

A new article about my recent iTunes releases made the front page of the Pflugerville Pflag. Staff reporter James Rincon wrote about the premiere of RICHARD GARRIOTT: MAN ON A MISSION (2010) at SXSW last year and wrote the latest article as well. I'm really proud of it. It delves into a few more aspects of my career which is kind of cool. There's also some signature quotes that I feel really expresses who I am. What's especially delightful is the fact that James interviewed Matt about mixing my scores as well. He's quoted quite a bit in the article.

James was kind enough to run over a short stack of papers this afternoon. Here's a link to read the article online.

Thursday, April 7. 2011

My second soundtrack release just recently showed up on iTunes. This is an oldie but a goodie. It's a film called AMERICAN GENERATOR (2003) and it's nearly ten years old. It may be the second narrative feature film I ever scored. The overall sound is a little amateurish compared to my present work but I'm still really fond of it. This was back in the day when my Roland JV-2080 was the flagship of my studio. I had just recently acquired an Akai S5000 just before I scored this film. In fact, I can't remember but this may be the first project I used that particular sampler. I remember it felt pretty high-tech. I also remember slaving away at the this score for weeks (maybe months). It's only a little more than a half-hour long. That would be relatively easy by present day standards.

Of all the scores I plan on releasing this is one of the few that I mixed myself. I not a very good engineer. If I could I'd probably remix this from the ground up. I don't have the time, energy, patience, or budget to do that so I'm releasing it as is. I understand the need for artists to go back and mess with their past work but honestly the correct thing to do is leave it as is. It's a testimony to where you were at the time. I'm proud of it for being that.

I did have Matt remaster the whole album to get it sounding as good as it possibly can. I'm really happy with how it turned out. I bought my copy and am listening to it now.

Matt is currently remixing and remastering my next score which I plan on releasing as soon as he's finished. By the end of the year I hope to have six or seven albums on iTunes available for the public to purchase...and I DO mean purchase!

Friday, April 1. 2011

After years of hesitation I've finally made the plunge and released my first soundtrack on iTunes. COWBOY SMOKE (2008) is a score I'm very proud of and I'm happy to have it available to the public for the first time. Some of the highlight tracks from this score are 30) Final Standoff (featuring my wife on vocals), 31) Cowboy Smoke (End Credits), 24) Joe & Elysa, and 15) Indio.

It's a modern day western which harkens back to the great films of Sergio Leone. Charles Tatum of Hollywood Bitchslap said the following: "Brian Satterwhite's musical score compares favorably to Ennio Morricone scores of old, paying homage to them without blatantly ripping them off."

It's also available on Amazon.com and will pop up on digital music retailers across the internet in the upcoming weeks. Audio samples are available. If you like it, please considering purchasing it and feel free to tell others about it. I've got a handful of soundtracks slated for release including an older score I did called AMERICAN GENERATOR (2003) which should be appearing on iTunes within the next week. After that I'll try to release a new score each month or so. Keep your eyes and ears peeled.

Friday, April 1. 2011

I found out yesterday that my score for CELL-THE WEB SERIES (2010) picked up an Outstanding Achievement Award for music at the LA Web Fest. It also picked up awards for Outstanding Drama and Outstanding Cinematography. Congratulations CELL team!